September 15, 2020 – The Soap Dish

(Friday 28^th August – Monday 14^th September 2020)

Things finally came crashing down around vile Geoff this past fortnight with not only him being carted off by the police but his son Tim, also has also had the scales fallen from his eyes and can finally see him for what he truly is – an abuser. It all started after yet another row between Geoff and Alya where Tim was clearly rattled by the way Alya is clearly so broken and so desperate over the way she believes Geoff has destroyed her Gran. He and Faye have both seen flickers of a different side to him and when he mentioned the cameras in the house, Sally bravely took it upon herself to steal Geoff’s laptop and even managed to wriggle out of it, despite her fear, when she got caught.

Tim was clearly uncomfortable but helped her break into the laptop and was satisfied when they uncovered nothing. However, when Fay returned and discovered what they were doing, she had a millennial’s way of examining a laptop and although Geoff had done a good job of deleting the camera footage, there was a link to his phone gallery and on it was that awful, hideous video he took of Yasmeen on the night of the magic show. All three of them watched it in horrified shock.

Faye and Sally examine Geoff’s laptop…
(photo credit: Metro)

At home, Geoff realised the computer was missing but it was too late. Sally and Faye had already taken it to the police station, leaving him to come face to face with is heartbroken son. Tim now seems sure that Elaine is his Mum and Geoff is the reason she has disappeared. He even called him an abuser, referencing the video, the red dress, burning Yasmeen’s clothes, how frightened she has seemed for months, locking her in the box – everything is suddenly clear. Then the police turned up to arrest Geoff. Finally, the truth is coming out!

Of course, Geoff managed to squirm out of it somehow and the people didn’t hold him. However, he didn’t manage to win Tim back. Tim located Elaine’s address and attempted to find her but she hadn’t been home for some time.

David lost patience with Shona after an entire day of inappropriate behaviour, including nearly stripping off in the Street, insulting customers, losing Lily and then eating the kids’ dinner. This was a very creative way of dealing with maternity leave! Most people have a row and go to Spain…

Upset about the day before, Shona decided she wanted to leave Wetherfield and start again. It was Nina who pushed her back to David and the family (plus Nina) spent the day in the garden, having a barbeque while Shona annoyingly jumped up and down on a trampoline. That was until a big sinkhole opened up in the garden, narrowly missing swallowing Shona. I mean, that really would be terrible luck, considering everything.

A random sinkhole appears in the Platt’s back garden…
(photo credit: Metro)

When the house was declared unsafe, Ray stepped out of nowhere and saved the day, putting them all up in his hotel, which allowed David and Shona the chance to start anew in their relationship. Now, somehow, the whole thing has been set up by Ray, who seems to want to take the house or something. I don’t know. Orchestrating a sinkhole seems a little outrageous but we are in bizarre times… Anyway, he proposed to David, once the insurers wouldn’t have a bar of it, that a friend of his would buy the house. David saw through all his kindness instantly and knew something was amiss but that doesn’t necessarily mean he can do anything about it. Anyway, it’s all a bit weird.

Todd still hasn’t reappeared. A body turned up in the canal, which Billy thought may be Kel. He opted to go the police first and they seemed to agree that it was indeed him, leaving Billy with the task of breaking the news to distraught Paul who had only just started to put the past behind him.

Toyah and Imran were passed to be foster carers. Dev has to sell the kebab shop to cover the kids’ school fees despite the fact that ignorant Asha has started seeing Corey again. She even wants to move out with him, if you please. That weird and slightly annoying storyline between Daniel and Nicky (I thought her name was Vicky, I cared that much) continued. Oh and apparently Ali got four months. I can’t actually remember what he did, he was so boring. Drugs, wasn’t it?

And in an actually important storyline, Leanne’s plans to take Oliver on holiday were scuppered when he was rushed back into intensive care and they were told he may not recover this time. Poor Leanne wasn’t able to process the news and remained fixated on the holiday. Jane Danson is breaking my heart in every scene. Meanwhile, Nick bumped into old flame Natasha (who I vaguely remember) from ten years ago. Keeping the news from Leanne, Nick overheard Natasha talking to the medical staff about her son, who would be just the right age to be his son. Apparently she aborted his child at the end of their relationship (which I didn’t remember). He confronted her and after a bit of faffing about, she confessed that her little boy was indeed his son. Well, that’s bad timing, isn’t it?

Natasha accidentally stumbles back into Nick’s life…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

At the hospital, Leanne and Steve were told that it was only life support keeping Oliver alive. Neither of them could accept that it was the end.

Coronation Street airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays @ 7:30pm and 8:30pm

(Monday 7^th – Monday 14^th September 2020)

The Walford gang have been living in lockdown like the rest of us these past few months and we have a hell of a lot to catch up on! And one of the best things to report is that Kat is back! Hooray!

When we last saw everyone, Ian and Sharon had just bought the Queen Vic together, with Ian having pinched Max’s money from the restaurant on the pretence of looking after it for him while he divorced Rainie (Ian is just getting darker and darker, isn’t it?!) Well, it turns out that during lockdown, they have been cosily living together at the pub, with Ian having apparently forgotten all about his Mum and Bobby back at home. It’s all about Sharon and Albie (the baby, who used to be called Kayden). I’m not sure which name is worse.

Sharon has a lot to deal with…
(photo credit: Metro)

Having got off her drugs charges but with Ian still lording everything over her, Dotty finally lost her temper and revealed everything about Denny’s death to Sharon. But with no proof, Sharon couldn’t believe that her dearest friend would ever do such a thing and threw Dotty out of the pub. Undeterred, Dotty decided that the pair deserved each other and wound Ian up by convincing him that Sharon had feelings for him. Having harboured feelings for Sharon for months (probably years, to be honest), the moron finally made his move, only to be turned down. Awkward. Very awkward. Oh and now Max’s divorced is through and he wants his money back…

Ruby is has had her credit card stolen and is being rinsed. I can’t remember if we know who by… But she and Vinny planned an insurance job that went wrong. Before Ruby could call it off, Vinny was chased down by Martin who ended up getting smacked in the head with a fire extinguisher, which was a bit extreme! Suki covered it all up and got him sent off to hospital. I was quite impressed by how well it was all filmed, actually. I’ve been impressed by how almost everything has been filmed – in all the soaps. They’re doing amazingly well in the circumstances.

Vinny knocks Martin out…
(photo credit: Metro)

One thing that did let Eastenders down though was one scene in the Chantelle and Gray storyline and it’s such a shame as this story has been utterly flawless since the beginning and of course, the news has been released that this week, Chantelle will be murdered by Gray. I am absolutely heartbroken that this is the way the story will end, not to mention shocked. But I have to applaud the show for being honest about how these situations do pan out sometimes. Not everyone gets a happy ending and it’s important reflect that. In a horrific and heartbreaking way, this plot may save lives.

However, while every step of this abuse plot has been chilling and uncomfortable and genuinely upsetting, last week’s bath scene was just weird. I’m sorry. I know it must have been really difficult to film but it was just so weird. It made no sense at all. For starters, if, over lockdown, Gray had started this kind of breath play abuse, why, when she knew he was furious with her and wanted a divorce and her out of the house, would Chantelle have ever thought, hey, I’ll go and have a lovely bath? Absolutely ridiculous.

I just hope the next few episodes live up to the truthful, clever storytelling we have witnessed since it began. And it truly has been clever. If we think back, we knew there was something up with Gray long before they ever showed anything. We never saw inside their home for weeks and weeks. The only version of themselves we ever saw was what they presented to the outside world so we knew there was something not right before it was ever explicitly shown to us. As horrific as the next few episodes may be, I hope they do the story justice.

At the point we have left them, Chantelle so nearly made her escape, turning Kheerat, who had fallen in love with her, down and planning a holiday with her parents and siblings, from which she didn’t plan to return. Of course, Gray got wind of it and banned the children from going. Chantelle was left with a dilemma – abandon her children and escape her husband or stay behind? Well, it’s obvious what she will do and what the consequences will be…

Gray thwarts Chantelle’s plan of escape with her kids…
(photo credit: Metro)

In other news, Ben’s operation finally went ahead and his hearing returned. But more trouble lay ahead when Callum saw the CCTV footage, identifying Ben at the warehouse job. Cue: Ballum tension. However, Callum agreed to tackle the problem at work if Ben persuaded Phil to roll over on Danny Hardcastle, the person that the police are really trying to nail. Phil refused.

Tina grew closer to Frankie when Kathy gave her a job at The Albert, once she had offended and then corrected herself over some thoughtless words about her being deaf. Linda teased her mercilessly when she brought her for some drinks at The Vic, with it being quite clear that Tina fancied her, although it’s not clear as to whether Frankie feels the same way. What is clear is that Frankie is attached to Ollie, who reminds her of her little brother, Harry who died when he was very young. Later, Frankie, a photographer, took secret pictures of the Carters while they played football in the Square. I can’t decide if she is nice or strange. Time will tell…